


23) It's Over... Isn't It?

by AwkwardMandork



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Carry On Round Robin, M/M, Not Beta Read, Please be nice, Round Robin, Texting, Trope is texting, chapter 25, this is the longest fic i've ever written, vague wayward son references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-25 23:08:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21364168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwkwardMandork/pseuds/AwkwardMandork
Summary: In the previous chapter, Simon and Baz get stranded on an island. In this chapter, there's no cell service, and I got the trope Texting. They defeat The Insidious Humdrum, and.... Then what?
Relationships: Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch & Simon Snow, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Comments: 3
Kudos: 79
Collections: Carry On Round Robin





	23) It's Over... Isn't It?

**Baz **

The next morning wasn’t unlike most mornings. Except, well.. It was, on every single level, different than other mornings. I wake up lying in something soft, and feel a weight on my chest, leg, and stomach. When I open my eyes, all I can see is leathery, red wings shielding my vision, spotty light filtering through the stretched skin to show off the veins and bones in some spots. I slowly sit up and look around. 

Today is definitely not like most days. 

I’m in a grassy spot next to a giant, looming tree, and next to Simon bloody Snow. He slept in today. Usually, he’s up in time for breakfast. I scoot from his grip to try to get to the picnic basket, but his ropey tail secures my leg in place. I try again, pulling and carefully unwinding his tail from my leg to get breakfast. In retrospect, I should have stayed where I was, except it was too late because now Simon was awake, and even if I didn’t wake him up when I moved, I wouldn’t be in his arms anymore. 

My lovely boyfriend’s arms. His strong back. His chest, covered in freckles and moles, leaving me breathless. 

My Simon. 

He sits up and stretches, yawning. “Morning, Baz. Are you planning to stare at me and watch me wake up or do I get a good morning kiss?” 

I can’t help but scoff. “Merlin and Morgana, Snow, we’ve been dating for all of ten hours, most of which we weren’t awake for, and you already think the world is upside down.” 

Simon checks my mobile. I took it out of my pocket last night before we fell asleep. “Seven hours,” he corrects, and pulls me down to kiss him. I oblige, because I’m weak, and he has me here, under his thumb, and he smells like scones and sunshine, and a firepit. He smells like home, and comfort. 

I don’t think life could get any better than this. Well, save for the fact that we’re stuck on an island that supposedly had a bird sanctuary on it with no mobiles and no magick. After several kisses and rolling in the long grass with Simon, I finally am able to stand. Simon takes his place beside me and picks up the picnic basket, taking a scone out and eating it quickly. I smile, and watch. He’s got crumbs all over his flushed face, and it’s absolutely beautiful to see him like this. I take in a deep breath and freeze. Something’s wrong.

**Simon**

Baz stiffens beside me and I almost ask what’s wrong, because just seconds before, we were perfectly fine, on the ground kissing each other stupid. What could possibly be wrong?

That’s when I smell it. 

The pine and cedar forest around us seems to thicken, and an acrid smoke pours through the trees into our clearing. The sky darkens, and I swear I can hear thunder even though it was just a gorgeous day outside. The clouds spiral downward and join with the smoke, and then, standing before us.. 

Is me.

Except, it’s not me. It’s me when I was eleven years old, with that red ball I loved so much, my head freshly shaven as it always was when I wasn’t at Watford. The Insidious Humdrum looks up at me and frowns, clearly confused. “You’re still me. Why did you take my body?”

He has my voice, and my eyes, and my face, but words that I’ve never said before flow from his mouth. “No, you’re me. You took my body- That’s my face!” I stammer over my words and The Humdrum sighs. 

“No.. If anything, I’m me. I’m what’s left behind when you’re done.”

“No, you’re evil, you’re supposed to be the One to bring our fall- You know, from the prophecy!” 

“You’re supposed to be the most powerful mage in the world. But where does that power come from??” 

I remember Penny telling me once that her magick is like a well. She draws her magick up from the bottom of the well instead of in buckets. Baz says his is like striking a match. But mine, mine is explosive. It’s a ticking time bomb, not controlled or balanced. “I- I don’t--” 

Baz cuts me off. “Cut to the chase, Humdrum!”

“That’s such a stupid name.” The Insidious Humdrum sighs, and Baz points his wand to cast.

**_“Laisse-moi tranquille!” _ **Silver sparks shoot from the end of his ivory wand, and the Humdrum doesn’t seem to be affected at all. In fact, he smiles, and seems to absorb it. He takes all that he can from Baz’s wand until he collapses. I rushed to his side and hold his shoulder, but Baz pushes me back. His eyes have gone dark, and his fangs have dropped to snarl at me. “Simon, run! Go!” 

But I’m frozen in place. The Humdrum steps closer and I throw my hand out like that would stop him from ten feet away as my hair starts to stand on end and my stomach twists in a pit of anxiety.. He keeps walking and I finally break and shout at him. “Just- Just **_Go away!”_** I want this to stop. He’s hurting Baz. The world is spinning too quickly. I’m dizzy. My head hurts, and I want to hurl. I feel my magick expand and implode, like a nuclear bomb dissolving the world where it lands, making the earth ripple like a swimming duck disturbing an entire lake with waves. my body aches all over, and I just want this to stop.

He keeps walking forward, as if I hadn’t said a word, and the world around me smells like fireworks and rainwater. I went off… and the Humdrum was still standing, just a step away from me. He places a hand on my elbow and helps me stand. “That was rude, y’know… I can’t cast a single spell and then you go off on me. Doesn’t it bother you that you can’t control your magick?”

Baz lets out a strangled cry and writhes. The Humdrum smiles and I have to squeeze my eyes shut. “Let him go!!” 

The Humdrum stops. “You’re right, you know. He’s not powerful enough anyway. I need you.” Baz stops shaking and lays still on the ground, breathing heavily. At least he’s still alive.

“What??” I turn my attention back to the Humdrum, now that I know Baz is okay.

“You’re the most powerful mage in the world, drawing up all the magick in the world like a giant bucket with an even bigger hole. The bucket is almost empty.” 

“You’re the hole??” That’s when I understand. 

All this magick. All the power I can’t control…

It’s because it’s not mine. I’m not supposed to control it. I might argue, but I’m kind of relieved. I knew I wasn’t meant to control this kind of power- Only real mages can control their magick. It made sense that I wasn’t meant to be a real mage. 

Finally, the last five years of my life… Make sense. I’m a hole in a magickal cloth, taking all the magick and leaving holes to fill where magick once was. I kneel and offer my hands to the Humdrum.

Some holes just want to be filled. 

When there’s a hole in your bucket, what do you do?

You fix it.

I take the Humdrum by the shoulders, and push my magick out from as far as I could reach, like a bucket brigade passing armfuls of power from my toes through to my hands. All that power, bucketful by bucketful, pushing that raw power into the Humdrum as fast as he could take it, plugging the hole and filling the giant bucket of magick that fueled the world. My hands are practically glowing with the heat of it all, and the wind speeds up, spiraling around me like a hurricane until I was suddenly in the eye, the calm spot where time stops and the sky above is blue, but everything surrounding that spot is the heavy, dark grey of waterlogged clouds.

The clouds start to clear, expanding from the centre of my hurricane, and the Humdrum starts to fade away, as if he were nothing but dust on the wind. He smiles up at me, and I can’t help but return it. He mouths “Thank you,” then he’s gone. 

And I… I feel empty. I collapse on the grassy ground, shaking and trembling as the feeling spreads.

**Baz**

I hold myself down. I squeeze my eyes shut. I imagine I’m back in the coffin, the lid sealed tight and the light not breaking through. I have to wait here, I have to stay until it’s safe. I crack my eyes open and see Simon kneeling, the wind blowing his hair up so it’s like he were standing on the blowing end of a giant hair dryer. Then, as quickly as it started, the Humdrum fades and the wind stills suddenly. The clouds start to clear, and I feel my strength return.

I thought I might have bitten him. I know I wouldn’t, but I felt like I had to. He was so close, and his heart thundered in his chest, and I felt like I might either bite him or combust. 

We were so close to dying, just now… I was close to dying. 

But Simon, Simon’s so strong, so alive… 

And I’ve never seen him look so dead before. 

I rush to his side as he falls from his kneeling position, holding his head in my lap as I stroke his hair and let my thumb rest on that mole on his neck I’ve wanted to kiss since I was twelve. I pull him up into my lap, and I do. He rests his head on my shoulder, and I want to hold him here forever. 

Then, my mobile rings. I suppose I finally got reception. 

I pull my cell and see that it’s Penny, so I pick up. “Hello?”

“Baz, where ARE you?! You and Simon have been gone and off the grid for the past day and a half! Do you know how many times I’ve called you??” 

I pull my mobile away to see before answering. “Fifty-six times. Morgan and Morgana, Bunce, do you not have anyone else to call?”

She sighs. “Just.. Get home soon. Something’s happened. I’m.. Not quite sure what.” Then, she hangs up, and I’m left with Simon. I cast **_ “Get well soon!”_** a few times, and within the hour, Simon is sitting up on his own, and letting me help him sip from our bottle of Ribena from breakfast. He looks up at me and I frown, holding his face. 

“Baz,” he starts, and I cut him off. 

“Don’t worry, love. I’m here. We need to get off this island, though…” 

Simon flutters his wings and frowns, thinking.

Then, it hits me. I almost facepalm. 

“Bloody hell.. Simon, you’ve got wings.”

“What?”

“This entire time, we could have flown away. Both of us. Snow, you’ve got wings!” 

He smiles, and stands. He helps me up, and I take his hand gratefully. Then, he wraps his arms around me after I grab the almost empty picnic basket (Save for our half-empty bottle of Ribena,) and I feel the wind start batting around us again, this time accompanied by the beating of wings above me. Then, we’re off. Simon carries us up above the treetops and leans forward, carrying us on the breeze towards the shore. 

**Simon**

I don’t want to think.

I’ve spent so much time.. Not thinking.

The Insidious Humdrum is dead. Or, well, “Filled.” 

And I’m empty. 

I want to be… Not empty. 

I want the world to stop spinning, and to please, just give me a moment to catch up.

**Baz**

I can tell he’s overthinking and that he’s too in his head right now. The beating of his wings slow down and we’re falling to the ground. I cast to the ground, “Soft as a blanket!” and we land smoothly. (That is to say, Simon and I crashed to the ground in a heap, but the ground absorbed our impact, much like a trampoline.) Simon sits up and mutters an apology, and I just pull him close. He leans into my shoulder and I rub his back, letting him cry into my shirt. My phone dings again, and I pick it up to check it. Bunce texted me, “Baz, where are you? Get back to Watford ASAP.” I sigh, and stand up. “Snow, I have to hunt. Stay here, please?” 

“No, we need to stick together.. What if he comes back??” I can feel the panic in his voice, how scared and anxious he was. He went off back there, with the Humdrum. I could smell the campfire- smoke of his magick practically exploding everywhere all at once when the Humdrum disappeared. 

I can’t smell it anymore, even on Simon. In fact, now he smells like butter, and scones. And blood.

I have to feed. 

I kiss his cheek, and hold his shoulder. “Trust me. We’ll be okay. I won’t go too far, and you can scream if you need me. I’m here. I’m not leaving you.” 

Simon nods and sniffles, his nose scrunching. “You called me Simon before. I liked when you called me Simon…” 

“Okay. I’ll be right back, Simon.” I kiss his cheek again before disappearing into the forest. I catch a few rabbits and some birds, feeding quickly to get back to Simon as quick as I can. It takes all of half an hour before I’m ready to go back. 

Simon stumbles to his feet when I return and I pick him up. (He looks like he’s about to collapse.). I spelled his wings with “These are not the droids you are looking for!” and carry him to the train station.

He’s asleep by the time I get there. He drools on my shoulder, and I practically melt. 

Who wouldn’t?

I’ve got the most beautiful boy in the world sleeping on my lap after our first date on an island. 

Granted, on our first date, we defeated the Humdrum. 

_Simon_ defeated the Humdrum.

I lay there uselessly and tried to talk myself out of drinking Simon’s blood. 

And now, he was here, in my lap, his invisible tail wrapped around my leg while he sleeps. My phone dings again and Bunce is asking where in the ever-loving fuck I am. I take a picture of Simon, and send it to her instead of an actual response. I can’t type very well with one hand, and I don’t like misspelling words simply because I couldn’t reach the “P” button without feeling like I’m going to drop my phone.

She calls, and I decline the call, because Simon’s sleeping and I don’t want to wake him up. She’ll just have to wait.

We finally arrive to where we started our journey yesterday, and I carry Simon out of the train car. I hail a cab and tell them to floor it, and that I’ll tell them to stop when we’re close enough. The cabbie gives me a weird look but doesn’t question it. When we’re finally back at Watford hours later, Simon’s awake again. We get out of the car and head up the steps to the school. It’s raining, and a giant assembly is waiting for us when we arrive. There’s a casket, and I already have a feeling on who’s inside. 

My suspicions are proven true once Simon and I draw closer. No one makes a move or a sound as we all stand silently on the Great Lawn, looking down at the green coffin and the face of The Mage inside. The name tag on the casket read “David “Davy” Llewellyn,” and around the casket were pictures of him throughout the years- Some, he was with a woman with lovely blue eyes and long, blonde hair. Others, he was alone, and one even had him with Simon, his brown eyes fierce and stern while Simon’s blue ones were nervous and young. He must have been eleven when this picture was taken- Simon held his red ball, and on the desk was a “Introduction to Spells- Year One” book. I look back at Simon now, as he stares into the box. 

David’s been sewn back together since he lost the fight to the Chimera. Ugly scars mar his skin, stitches holding him together in some places. This would be the last time we ever see him. 

“He tried to kill you,” Simon mumbles beside me. “I saw him… He tried to kill you.”

“But he didn’t. I’m okay, Snow.”

“I know, but…”

I wait for him to finish but he lets the words hang in the air, heavy and full of defeat. “Don’t worry about me, love. He’s not going to hurt either of us anymore. He’s never going to hurt anyone ever again. Okay?”

He hesitates before replying, “Okay,” and then hugs me. Miss Possibelf and a few other teachers use magick to lift the lid onto the casket, then to lower him into the ground. Then, he’s buried, and Penny is running to greet Simon and I. She stops beside me with Agatha by her side, both of them immediately hounding us with questions. “Where have you been? Are you feeling okay? You look sick! Simon, where are your wings? Baz, why are you holding him like that?” I’m not even sure who’s asking what question, so instead of answering, I kiss Simon’s cheek and pull him away from the overwhelming drumming of noise and voices. He doesn’t argue.

Penny and Agatha follow us all the way up to our room, where they sit on Simon’s bed (I sit with him on mine,) and explain all that I can while Simon (The cat) sits on my lap and licks at (human) Simon’s hand. By the end of it, even the cat looks surprised (though I know he can’t understand English.) (I think.)

Penny looked to Simon, clearly shocked. “You defeated the Humdrum, but now you can’t do.. Any magick?? At all?”

Simon shrugs, and puts his hand at his hip.**_ "In justice. In courage. In defence of the weak. In the face of the mighty. Through magick, and wisdom, and good." _** It’s the one spell he always got right, but nothing happens. He frowns, and leans against my side once again. I hold his waist, and let him rest his head in the crook of my neck. 

Wellbelove puts her hand on Simon’s knee and gives him a smile. “Hey. It’s okay. You might not have magick, but you’re not normal. You’ve got wings, Si! And you’ve got Baz, too, by the looks of it.” She smiles at me, and I return it with tight lips. I don’t want to smile, but I know she’s right. He’s the best Normal in the world- He’s got wings, and he’s got me.

**Simon**

Agatha’s rightI don’t need magick. I have Baz. And for me… That’s enough. I sit back up and give them all a small smile. “Thank you all. So much. Especially you, Agatha.” I kiss Baz’s cheek, and stand. “Are you coming? We’ll be late to dinner.” 

I’ll worry about my sexuality, and classes, and what I’m going to do for the rest of my life later. We all look like shit, (Correction, me and Baz look like shit,) and we’re going to eat dinner while it’s still hot. Dev and Niall join us, and for once since the chimaera attack last year…

Everything’s okay.

Tomorrow, I’ll wake up. I’ll kiss my boyfriend Good Morning and walk him to his classes. I’ll look up what people do after fulfilling their lifelong goals online, and I’ll take tests to see if I’m really gay or not. I’ll eat dinner with him, and wait for him to come back from hunting. Then, the day after that, we can dance at the Sixth Year’s Beginning of the Year ball, and he can remind me how to dance in the meantime. We’ll dance the night away, and this time, everyone will believe us. We’ll kiss, and at the end of the night, share dessert. And after that… I’m not sure. But for right now, everything is okay. We will be okay.

We will carry on.

**Author's Note:**

> I REALLY HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THIS!!! This is the longest fic I've ever written, and it took me FOREVER to do it! Comment below, and I really hope you enjoyed Carry On Round Robin. This is the last chapter. The End. I love you all. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this.


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